Hop on the South-Western Railway at Waterloo, and within two hours of travelling through the scenic British countryside, you can be in a beautiful part of Dorset within a stones throw of the New Forest, Sandbanks, and the coastline of Bournemouth and Poole. We did this journey ourselves to capture this gorgeous case study, head to our YouTube channel to see the video we made with Abi, where she talks about what went right, what went wrong, how much they spent and what home means to her family.

Back in 2021 we completed this side extension project for Abi and Royce, who have been living there since and now share the home with their newborn baby Aida. After 15 years of life in London together, Abi and Royce found themselves falling in love with Dorset during the pandemic, having spent a lot of time there to be with Royce's family. And so, they bit the bullet and bought this property - embarking upon a pretty sizeable project - and haven't looked back!

What sparked the project, and what was the house like before?

We actually didn't intend to take on a project this big at all. We were very keen on the area, but in this area, there were only a certain amount of houses that would come on the market. And within our budget, it was slim pickings. I remember seeing this property on Rightmove and thinking,absolutely not, we cannot do that, and I scrolled past it. And then a few days later, I was looking at it again, I sent it to Royce, as sort of a joke actually, and said,Look, this one is absolutely perfect location, but we can't. And he really surprised me. He said,I think I think that's the one."

These houses were all built in 1930. The house before the renovation was pretty bad, I don't know how to say it politely. I don't think it'd been lived in for a long time, and it definitely hadn't been renovated in decades. The previous owner had a lot of cat flaps, so cats were in and out continuously, they all had like certain corners that they slept in at night. so it was smelly, and there was pictures of cats everywhere. They still come around actually quite a lot, they walk past looking at us judging that we've put bifolds in and they can't get in anymore.

Next to the kitchen there was a very strange sunroom that we couldn't even step into, actually it was quite dangerous. The roof had fallen in and the floor wasn't stable. Over the years and with the cats it slowly became really rundown. It was mostly wood and glass, but it was all it was smashed in, and the roof had caved in as well.

How's life in your Resi home, and how do you use the space?

My favourite room in the house is the kitchen diner, I think because it's so open but there's also some cosiness to it. And it allows for me, Royce and Aida to be in the same room together at the same time, but not necessarily being forced together to hang out. Royce can be cooking, Aida can be playing on her mat, I can be watching telly - there's a place for everyone in this room. I like how open it is. This room also has the veluxes which Resi put in, and we can see some protected oak trees through them and I love that. I love watching the leaves change throughout the year.

One of the ideas that Resi came up with was to really open up this back space. Originally, it was a very small kitchen and a separate small dining room. And so we took down all the walls, and then also added the extension onto it, and it created this really nice open space that allows you to see from one corner of the room right through to the other. Since opening up this space, it's allowed us to have a few more social gatherings here, which has been really lovely, and have the neighbours round. It's been lovely to have this space that I can invite them into that I feel proud of, and will hopefully make them feel comfortable.

One of the other things Resi designed was the reconfiguration of the staircase, which has actually been quite integral to this hallway and our upstairs bathroom. What we did was put three steps into the winder, which allowed us to shift the whole staircase backwards, which opened up this hallway. And it also allowed us to extend the bathroom upstairs by 30 centimetres, which doesn't seem like much but when you have a small bathroom already, it makes all the difference.

What did you love about working with Resi?

I was recommended Resi by a friend. At the beginning of the project, I was just doing a lot of research on which architects would be best for our project. And I think Resi's website was just really clear and simple to understand, when everything felt a little bit overwhelming and daunting - Resi seemed to understand that people might feel that way, and they were ready to help. It was kind of like having a trustworthy big brother come on a project with you and say, this is what you need to do, and you'll need to do that then, and make sure you haven't forgotten about this. And I needed that because I was absolutely clueless!

What does home mean for you?

I think home for me means having a space that you can truly be yourself in. Something that's comfortable and cosy, and you feel good when you step inside. And I want the same for my daughter, Aida. I want her as she grows older to have areas that are purely for her, that she can feel that she can be truly herself in this home. And I want that even when she's 30, she can turn her key in the door and still walk in and feel that this is her home.

What's your best piece of advice for anyone thinking about doing a renovation?

Any advice I would give is just go for it. Set a budget, know you're probably going to go over it, ask as many questions as you can to anyone that's willing to give you the time. And yeah, just go for it.

Photography by Peter Furlong.